


hate the goodbye (but i won't forget the good times)

by merlypops



Category: Wonder Woman (2017), Wonder Woman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, F/M, Falling In Love, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Kissing, Love, Memories, Sad Ending, Spoilers for Wonder Woman (2017), Steve X Diana, World War I, wondertrev
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-04
Updated: 2017-06-04
Packaged: 2018-11-09 01:20:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11093913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merlypops/pseuds/merlypops
Summary: 'For the first time since the war to end all wars had begun, Steve Trevor finally felt at peace.Diana believed in love and Steve believed in Diana. It was as simple as that.'Spoilers for Wonder Woman.Based on “Good Times” by All Time Low.





	hate the goodbye (but i won't forget the good times)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DuendeVerde4](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DuendeVerde4/gifts).



> Basically I watched Wonder Woman for the first time today with one of my best friends on the planet (Keeley, that's you) and it broke my heart. Also I adored it. And it made me cry.  
> Anyway, as soon as That Scene happened (you know the one) I decided to write this fic. Obviously there are huge HUGE spoilers for Wonder Woman in this fic so just a heads up there.  
> I hope you guys will like this! <3
> 
> Also, the lovely DuendeVerde4 made a podfic of this story! You can listen here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/11172420  
> Go and show some love!

“ _I can save today. You can save the world._ ”

The words were still ringing in Steve's head, as persistent as the ominous rattling of the gas canisters loaded safely in the plane’s hold. A small scoff escaped him as he wrenched the plane higher, keeping his blue eyes fixed on the stars as he struggled to keep his breathing under control. It felt ridiculous to think of the gas canisters as safe and the hysteria threatened to escape him in another peal of nervous laughter.

He’d stolen the plane with its deadly cargo from right under Ludendorff’s nose but at what price? He supposed deep down he’d always known it might end like this; his actions finally catching up with him as he was stamped to grit beneath the enemy’s boots. The only thing he _hadn’t_ factored in was the strange serenity he felt in the pilot’s chair as he guided the stolen plane higher, where the air grew thinner around him, leaving the base twinkling far below like a tiny fire-red ruby.

For the first time since the war to end all wars had begun, Steve Trevor finally felt at peace.

It didn’t matter that the sinister rattle of the gas canisters made it impossible for him to forget where he was or what he was about to do. He had a job to do and it was one that he couldn’t fail. Not with so many people counting on him. Not when he’d pressed his father’s watch into Diana’s hand and felt his heart swell in his chest beneath the onslaught of emotions that gazing at her produced.

Diana believed in love and Steve believed in Diana. It was as simple as that.

He would do everything he could to make sure she made it out of this alive - to make sure that as many innocent souls as possible were not lost - and that thought comforted him like a shroud wrapping ever-tighter around him… like the stars blanketing the night sky outside and softly beckoning to him almost.

Soon. His fight in this war would all be over soon.

His heart ached in his chest, piercing through the comforting numbness of terror and exhaustion like one of Diana’s arrows as he slumped back in the chair with what could only be regret. He’d just remembered his last words to her; his last words to the most incredible woman he’d ever met.

Steve wished they’d had more time together.

He knew he wasn’t a good person - he’d lost the innocence of believing that four years ago when he’d first started fighting - and maybe he hadn’t deserved any longer with someone as **good** as Diana but… god, that didn’t mean he didn’t wish for it. That didn’t mean Steve didn’t _crave_ it with every fibre of his being as he tightened his grip on the control wheel until his knuckles were bone-white.

The worst part was that he could see it all for a moment: their life spreading out around him like a tapestry… like the most beautiful, shining dream that was evaporating like smoke the longer Steve grasped at it.

He pictured them eating breakfast together in a little house, legs tangled beneath the table as their spoons chinked against the china bowls of porridge. He could picture Diana wrinkling her nose up at it because Steve was notoriously bad at making it - he always burnt it and the sugar clumped up around the spoon - and a snort of laughter escaped him as he glanced behind him once more to see the gas canisters rattling on their shelves like snarling dogs pulling at their chains, desperate to escape and cause carnage.

Steve tore his eyes away with difficulty, focusing once more on the life he was dreaming of that could never come to fruition. He thought about them getting jobs together and saving up their wages to decorate their house; he thought about day trips to the coast and taking her back to his hometown in the USA to meet his parents - god, his _parents_ \- and the wide-eyed wonder on her face as they saw the good around them and started to re-learn that there _was_ still beauty left after such devastation.

He imagined their wedding and the way she would inevitably tear her dress while trying to perform some sort of dramatic heroics, and he was laughing faintly as the plane soared higher but the tears were leaking down his cheeks too, trickling like the salt water that she had saved him from on a day that felt like a million years ago now.

Steve pictured their children and the sound that escaped him then was like he’d been punched in the stomach; a strange sort of strangled sob that didn’t even come _close_ to putting his agony into perspective. They would have dark hair like their mother; her piercing eyes and stubborn mouth, and the way her rare smiles lit up her whole face like the sun touched only her.

He could see her beautiful face lined with age; the silver at her temples and the papery brush of her skin against his cheek like that very first moment on the beach, lying spread there on the sand with the crystal clear water washing around them and her dark hair coiled into a tight, thick plait as she touched his face curiously with her fingertips.

Diana had always shone brighter than everyone else around her; had always proved herself more determined and stubborn than he would have believed possible. He thought of her shining eyes and righteous indignation, and the hope blossoming like flowers on her beautiful face when she finally believed that he was telling her the truth.

Steve remembered her strength and courage in No Man’s Land, and how she had proved him wrong time and time again; always stronger and braver than he had ever imagined… than maybe _she_ had ever imagined too.

Diana was something **more** than anyone Steve had ever met before and the rawness he felt inside at the knowledge that he would never again look upon her face was almost too much to bear. He forced his tear-wet eyes back to the stars twinkling overhead but the pain in his chest only worsened as he realised that he’d never got to say goodbye to Etta back in London, or to Charlie and Sameer and the Chief. So many people he would never see again… but so many _more_ people that he would save.

Steely determination rippled through him and Steve straightened in the chair, searching for the peace he’d felt before and finding it with some difficulty. He drew his gun from its holster and flicked the safety off, unbuckling the safety harness so that he could twist in his seat to aim for the closest of the gas canisters. The metal buckle of the harness clinked against the controls but Steve didn’t care anymore; it didn’t matter now.

His last actions were clear: he was going to fire a bullet into the closest canister and the hydrogen in it would explode, causing a chain reaction that would result in the entire plane and all of its cargo being destroyed, eliminating the threat… but eliminating Steve Trevor as well.

He screwed his eyes shut for a moment, fighting to control his breathing as it threatened to rasp out of him in panic. The hand gripping the gun was shaking violently and Steve forced himself to relax, remembering the night he lay talking with Diana, lying side by side on the boat as they left Themyscira far behind.

Steve’s eyes were reflecting the stars outside and his heart was pounding so hard in his chest that it felt like it was trying to get out a lifetime’s worth of beats in the few moments he had left.

The love he could feel was outweighing the fear now and that was when Steve realised his time had come. There would never be a better moment than this, when his love for Diana was burning inside him and he could still remember the glorious _kindness_ of her filling him like sunlight when their lips met that night in Veld.

He tightened his hold on the gun and his trembling slowed. He inhaled slowly, holding his breath until he let it out in a long exhale… savouring the oxygen and the chill of the cabin seeping through his stolen jacket. He felt warm and _safe_ in his love for the princess, and nothing else mattered anymore.

The plane was going to tear apart around him soon, and he would be blistering, breaking, _dying_... but all Steve could see was Diana's lovely chocolate brown eyes fixed on his face as they swayed gently together in the courtyard, her beautiful face illuminated by firelight as the music drifted around them on the breeze.

There were snowflakes settling on her eyelashes and her hands were sure in his.

“ _I wish there was more time._ ”

Steve thought of Diana's face and closed his eyes.

“ _I love you._ ”

He pulled the trigger.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to anyone who read this. :)  
> I'd love to hear what you thought so please leave comments and kudos <3

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [A WonderTrev Podfic Project](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11172420) by [DuendeVerde4](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DuendeVerde4/pseuds/DuendeVerde4)




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